For the city of Alton’s two boys prep soccer teams, the early season has meant lots of hard work, plenty of sweat – and in the case of at least one of those teams, a little bit of craziness.

“We’re on the middle two-a-days,” Alton High’s first-year coach Nick Funk said. “We have around 60 kids out right now. We have 17 seniors this season, so it’s crazy.”

That’s crazy-good, Funk said.

“The kids are working hard and we’re seeing results,” said Funk, who puts his team through its paces at AHS. “The team looks good.”

Meanwhile, the city’s other prep kickers at Marquette Catholic High were also going through two-a-day workouts ahead of the beginning of the school term.

“Practices have been going well,” Marquette coach Jeremy Sanfilippo said. “It’s been pretty humid, but things look good so far.”

At Alton High, Funk is taking over the reins from former head coach Jay Robertson, who stepped down during the offseason. A former AHS player, the 28-year-old Funk stresses fitness.

“Conditioning is something that we are going to stress, especially early on,” Funk said. “Fitness is a major thing. We had stepped away a little from that. You have to be as fit as possible to compete in the Southwestern Conference.

“I think that skill-wise we’re pretty set,” he said. “But fitness will be a major focus.”

Last season, the Redbirds were 9-10-3. Under Robertson, Alton was 53-62-3 in six seasons.

AHS will begin its season Aug. 24 against Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin. The Redbirds will play host to their annual round-robin tournament Aug. 26 and 27. The tourney will include Triad, Edwardsville and Dunlap.

“Becoming a head coach at a high school is something I’ve wanted to eventually do,” he said. “I’ve always had the passion for coaching.”

Funk added that the opening of the soccer field at Alton High last year is a big plus to the program.

“Having everything in one place at the school is really great,” said Funk, who works in private business and is also a youth leader and media specialist at The Bridge church in Alton. “Being able to practice and have games at school cuts down on travel time (to the former facilities at Gordon Moore Park).”

Funk is a 2006 AHS graduate and played four seasons for the Redbirds under former coach Greg Nasello.

Nasello’s son, CJ Nasello, is one of the returning starters for the Redbirds. The senior defender scored four goals and added four assists last season.

Offensively, the Redbirds will need to replace Eric Fehrenbach, who put together an All-SWC senior season last year with 18 goals and three assists. Also lost to graduation was Nick Hatfield and his seven goals and six assists.

Skylar Funk returns. The senior scored three goals and added 10 assists last season. Also back is Stephen Nguyen, who had four goals and four assists last season.

Marquette’s Explorers, who went 14-7-3 last season,will feature a young lineup.

“We have 32 players out this year,” Sanfilippo said. “I think the biggest challenge this year will be that we are young but we’ve got a lot of skill on the field we’ve got more (club soccer) players this year than we have had in past years.”

The Explorers will get their season started Aug. 22 at home against SWC power Collinsville. Marquette, which plays a non-conference soccer schedule, has a tough slate once again.

“Marquette has always played tough schedules,” said Sanfilippo, who guided the Explorers to the 2012 Class 1A state championship. “That goes back a long way. We feel to get ready for the postseason, you need to play tough teams during the season.”

Included on the schedule are other SWC teams Edwardsville, Belleville East and Belleville West.

Marquette will look to senior Zach Weinman to carry some of the scoring load. As a junior, he led Marquette with 23 goals and eight assists.

Other returning players who’ll be counted on to contribute goals are Chris Hartrich, who had 123 goals and 15 assists last season, and Noah Fahnestock, who had two goals and nine assists last season.

“I think there’s a strong outlook this year we will grow each game,” Sanfilippo said.

Reach Pete Hayes at 463-2500 or Twitter @HayeserPete